A comparison of algainas and InGaAsP-based 1.3 μm semiconductor lasers using high pressure

Abstract

We have compared the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the threshold current, Ith, and lasing energy, Elase, of 1.3 pm quantum-well devices based upon AlGaInAs and InGaAsP. Whilst we observe a very similar dependence of Elase on pressure for the two materials, we measure strikingly different variations of Ith. By applying pressure to 1.3 μm InGaAsP lasers, Ith typically decreases by ∼ 10% over 1 GPa consistent with the reduction of Auger recombination, which forms ∼ 50% of Ith at room temperature. However, for the 1.3 μm AlGaInAs-based lasers, we observe an increase in Ith by ∼ 8% over the same pressure range. From these results we conclude that non-radiative recombination accounts for only ∼ 20% of Ith in AlGaInAs-based devices. This is in good agreement with previous temperature dependence measurements and shows why AlGaInAs-based devices exhibit a reduced temperature sensitivity of Ith which is very important for telecommunications applications.